The Tree: So I Can’t Avoid It After All, Huh?

The next morning, at dawn.

Fang Mo lay lazily in bed, still half-asleep.

Then, in the very next second, someone suddenly yanked off his covers. The faint chill woke him at once, and when he opened his eyes, he saw A Xue standing beside the bed in a maid outfit.

"Master, it’s time to get up."

A Xue was still holding Fang Mo’s blanket. "It’s already nine o’clock. Breakfast has gone cold. Didn’t you say you were going to watch a show today?"

"Wait… who taught you to wake people up like that?"

Fang Mo yawned despite himself as he lay in bed. "If you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve thought my mom had traveled through time to wake me up."

"Is that not okay?"

A Xue tilted her head. "I heard the Joestar family butler say that Mr. George Joestar often wakes JoJo up this way. He doesn’t seem to have any objections."

"Of course he doesn’t. George is his dad. What objections could he possibly have?"

Fang Mo rolled his eyes. "If you were my mom… I wouldn’t dare disobey you either, okay?"

"If Master wants, I can learn."

A Xue said it matter-of-factly.

"Uh… better not."

Fang Mo wiped his face after hearing that. He might have been a horny old pervert, but he wasn’t crazy enough to call just anyone Mom. Though Coco and Kagura Seven really were adorable…

"You don’t want me to learn?"

A Xue thought for a moment before asking again, "Then how does Master like to be woken up in the morning?"

"I think a simple good morning would be nice." Fang Mo answered without hesitation. "As they say, the morning sets the tone for the day. If that awkward problem could be resolved, I’m sure I’d feel as refreshed as a morning greeting New Year’s Day in a fresh pair of underwear, and I’d happily get out of bed."

"What if you can’t get hard in bed?" A Xue asked.

"How dare you!"

Fang Mo slapped the bed. "You dare question my kidney function?"

"That’s not what I mean, Master." A Xue pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly. "I mean, what if you still refuse to get out of bed after that? What if you insist on lying there until noon, slacking off and wasting time… what should I do then?"

"Dump a bucket of Lava on the bed. There, happy?"

Fang Mo said it directly.

"Okay, I understand." A Xue nodded seriously, then asked, "So does Master count as being up now?"

"Ask again."

Fang Mo said.

"?"

A Xue blinked strangely. "Then… does Master count as being up now?"

Yet to her surprise, Fang Mo simply lay back down. He sprawled across the bed in the shape of a starfish, staring seriously at A Xue. "No!"

A Xue: "…"

As for what happened next…

It wasn’t very appropriate to go into detail on this website.

In any case, by the time Fang Mo stuffed the love-filled sandwich into his mouth, it was already close to noon. Fortunately, A Xue had practiced her cooking quite a bit over the years, so even cold, the sandwich was still delicious.

A Xue had actually planned to throw breakfast away and make Fang Mo a fresh lunch.

But Fang Mo had been influenced by certain cultural values from his previous life and disliked wasting food. Besides, they had already delayed long enough. If making lunch caused him to miss the show, that would be a real loss.

So after finishing the sandwich,

Fang Mo headed out immediately.

The town where the Joestar family lived was actually quite large. Jonathan had simply grown up on the outskirts, since his family estate was too large and inconvenient to place in the town center.

Since Fang Mo had asked Jonathan about it yesterday, he knew roughly what their itinerary was.

Basically, they would first have fun in town: the amusement park, a meal, shopping, and so on. Erina’s home was in town, and the two would probably part ways on a dirt road near the outskirts before returning home separately.

According to Jonathan, he planned to confess to Erina before they parted.

Fang Mo first searched around town but found no sign of them, so he simply returned to that dirt road to wait. They would have to pass through here eventually.

However, the wait really was a little too long.

Bored out of his mind, Fang Mo idly rummaged through Steve’s backpack, seeing if there was anything else he could materialize for fun.

But Fang Mo had barely taken out a Magic Bean

when he spotted Jonathan and Erina in the distance.

Seeing that, Fang Mo casually stuffed the materialized Magic Bean into his pocket and hid in the shadows to observe them.

Honestly, the two had returned rather early.

That puzzled Fang Mo a little. On a normal date, shouldn’t they be reluctant to part until nightfall?

But Fang Mo soon understood why. Instead of parting, they took off their coats, rolled up their pant legs, and jumped straight into the stream, splashing each other while playing around.

Jonathan grinned foolishly, looking exactly like an idiot whose head had been clouded by love.

Erina, on the other hand, was happy too, but there was a trace of worry hidden in the way she occasionally looked at Jonathan. Those so-called prophecies from last night kept surfacing in her mind—the men of the Joestar family were short-lived generation after generation… How could she not worry?

After playing in the water for a while, the two soon grew tired and decided to head ashore to rest.

Erina sat on the grass, still thinking about last night’s prophecies. Jonathan, however, took out a knife and secretly ran over to a tree to carve something into it.

"Hm?"

Erina snapped back to her senses and curiously walked over. "JoJo, what are you carving?"

Then she saw that Jonathan had carved both their names into the tree, surrounded by a heart. Erina’s face instantly turned red, and she quickly turned away shyly. "JoJo, y-you… you’re awful! I’m not talking to you!"

"Uh… huh?"

Jonathan scratched his head awkwardly and muttered under his breath, "So it really won’t work?"

Yes, Jonathan was a little stubborn by nature. Fang Mo had already given him Aja’s Red Stone yesterday, but he stubbornly believed that carving names into a tree had to be romantic. He had decided to try it on Erina first, and only take out Aja’s Red Stone if it failed.

And judging from Erina’s reaction today, it really hadn’t worked?

After scratching his head, Jonathan decided not to carve any more. He hurried over to her. "Erina, um… let me show you a magic trick."

"Mm-hm?"

Erina wasn’t angry at all; she had only been embarrassed. She gave Jonathan a half-reluctant glance.

Then Jonathan, as though performing a trick, clasped his hands together. When he opened them again, a necklace slid down from his palms, its exquisite pendant hanging right before Erina.

The orange-red sunset shone over Aja’s Red Stone, reflecting a dazzling, brilliant glow.

"So… so beautiful…"

Erina was stunned and couldn’t help covering her mouth.

"No, Erina." Jonathan looked at her with a foolish smile. "In my eyes, you’re the most beautiful one. I… I’ve liked you for a long time!"

"JoJo…"

Hearing that, Erina felt something stir in her heart. She looked at him, deeply moved. Though shy, she lowered her head and softly said, "Um… could you help me put it on?"

"Huh?"

Jonathan froze, then replied blankly, "O-Okay."

Being an innocent young man, Jonathan fumbled around for quite a while before finally managing to put it on her. Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, though, the sight before him immediately captivated him.

With Aja’s Red Stone accenting her, the girl before him seemed even more beautiful.

Jonathan stared blankly at her, his heartbeat quickening for no reason. Suddenly, he remembered what his master Steve had told him: when giving someone a necklace, you had to kiss them. The gift was called a token of love, while the kiss represented the vow of their love—apparently some kind of tradition among mages.

Instinctively, Jonathan swallowed.

Of course, Erina understood what Jonathan meant when she saw him like that. Honestly, she felt quite embarrassed.

But when she thought of what that mage had said last night—that the men of Jonathan’s family were short-lived generation after generation, that she should cherish the person before her, that every day she spent with JoJo was one day less—she felt a little sad.

Looking at the young man before her, Erina took a deep breath.

Then she gently closed her eyes.

Jonathan was kind and innocent, not stupid. Seeing that, he seized the opportunity perfectly. Under the lingering glow of the sunset, the two sealed a lifetime together with a kiss.

Watching from nearby, Fang Mo wore a gratified smile like a loving old father.

Then he took out his phone and captured this classic moment.

After the kiss, the atmosphere between them clearly became a little delicate. Erina and Jonathan were both quite innocent and shy, and neither knew what to say in that moment. No matter what, their hearts were racing; they were happy and embarrassed at the same time. Before long, the two said goodbye to each other.

And right at that moment, a furtive figure suddenly appeared.